Faith Bed …aaaa!

I recently stayed overnight at the hospital with my wife. She had just given birth to our second son, Jeremiah. And to support her, I lay overnight in the fold-out sofa bed beside her bed. As uncomfortable as it was, that lackluster bed is the inspiration for this blog entry.

As I lay in bed I thought about my spiritual journey; my development as a follower of Christ and the life I had been entrusted with. Not just the inward life or my tendency to pray or my understanding of the Bible, etc. I was looking for fruit. What is becoming of me? What I believe makes no difference if it does not change me. Or even more, it needs to “make” and “re-make” me.

It becomes easier to have faith than to not have faith. Faith is not my personality, but has a tremendous effect upon my moods and attitudes, and that changes my behavior. (Just like being with a friend changes how you act.) In fact, without acting by faith, I begin to feel unlike myself. You see, I am just like anyone else. People were made to have faith and live by faith.

I am most like myself when I show faith. That is what is most comfortable to me. For example: Not so long ago, someone tried to tell me that Jesus does not heal. I looked at them as if they were from another planet. You see, I have seen far too many healings to believe such a ridiculous lie! Jesus IS the healer. And He IS my Savior and Lord. He has certainly forgiven me yesterday and today. …It is not wishful thinking. It is not religious mind-games. It is not a meaningless ritual passed from one generation to the next. Hope is not found in a reprinted prayer. Such things are for sissies; the faint at heart who are afraid to live. We live by faith because life is given for the living.

Acting by faith, I am most at rest, like laying in bed. The lights are out, darkness surrounds me. Strange sounds continue or disturb me, but I rest on my bed. I wait for the dawn, comfortably, and the light of Jesus is already shining within. I know in Whom I have believed, and I am alive!

I have faith. I rest in it and take action because of it. … aaaaa! It is good to be alive.